New Delhi, April 10 -- A steep cost of going green is "greenwashing": brands using misinformation or bad data to mislead consumers about their environmentalism. Organizations that resort to greenwashing risk reputational damage among customers who have paid a premium for what has turned out to be a false sense of sustainability, literally buying into environmentalist myths.

Brands combat greenwashing with transparency, providing reliable third-party-verified certification and audited data to measure their impact, sourcing, production, and distribution, as well as to create a reliable future strategy to improve it. Unfortunately, some organizations that withhold such information may still enjoy the halo effect of their sector's sustainabl...